Changes in the Meaning of Semantic Differential Scales: Measurement of Subject-Scale Interaction Effects

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Abstract
Changes in the affective meaning of semantic differential scales, resulting from differences in the background of subjects who do the rating, were investigated using a new technique for comparing different factor analyses, called transformation analysis. An illustration of the influence of the subject group on qualifier meaning was obtained from ratings of the concept "Work" by Finnish white-collar workers and farmers. In addition, the American, English and Finnish ratings of concepts employed in cross-cultural studies with a set of translation-equivalent scales served as an example of the influence of language translation on qualifier meaning. The results showed that the interaction effects in question, if carefully measured, provide useful information for further interpretation. The method of transformation analysis proved useful in a detailed analysis of the kind of change in meaning as well as in providing exact indices of factorial similarity.